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The slogan “Be here now,” is a loving and gentle reminder to be mindful throughout your day. This slogan will help you develop the habit of being mindful throughout your day. When you are mindful, you are the watcher of your mind, heart, and body.
There are several aspects of being the watcher that are good to keep in mind. When you are the watcher, you are calm, relaxed, and tranquil with whatever situation arises. When you are the watcher, you calmly observe the thoughts in the head and the emotions in the body rather than mistake them for being the truth (fixed-view) or mistake them for being who you are (self-view). Instead, the watcher sees this these thoughts, emotions, and sensations, as well as all other forms, as being impermanent and impersonal, nothing to get worked up over. The watcher can effectively sort out what among all of it is skillful and worthy of acting on, and what is unskillful, not worth acting on, but worthy of watching and experiencing closely until it goes away on its own.
The slogan, “Be here now,” is designed to get you to be the watcher several times throughout your day. Review the slogan in the morning to remind yourself of your worthy intention to be mindful throughout your day. Make sure that your intentions to be mindful come from a place of love and compassion, by dedicating your commitment to be more mindful to the benefit and welfare of all beings and all life, including your own.
Also, whenever you read the slogan, do so in a kind and loving voice, not a commanding or harsh one. If it helps, add a term of endearment such as “good buddy,” “dear,” “love,” or so on, to the end of the slogan to remind you to be kind to yourself. For example, “Be here now, friend.”
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Whenever you see the slogan, and whenever you remember to, stop what you are doing and notice:
- Am I calm, peaceful, relaxed and tranquil?
- What thoughts are being thought?
- What emotions are being felt?
- Can I see these thoughts and feelings as impersonal and impermanent?
If I am not calm and relaxed: in what way am I identified with the thoughts and feelings? In what way am I living in the past or present? In what way am I not accepting (or resisting) the present moment?
The very act of asking these questions and feeling for the answers (as opposed to merely thinking them) will put you into a state of mindfulness, of being the watcher grounded in the present moment.
Once you are the watcher, try to maintain this state for as long as you can, during all of your activities. You may not be able to maintain this state for long, so have lots of compassion and love for yourself. It will get easier with practice. Be patient and persistent, loving and compassionate.
Developing a habit of mindfulness will bring you many benefits. The more mindful you are, the more your true self of peace, joy, love, compassion, and wisdom, will come to the surface and shine through you. The more mindful you are, the quicker you will erode away the delusions and trapped energies that reside in the mind, heart, and body. The more mindful you are, the more you will move with ease, effortlessness, and skill through life. So do your best to work with this slogan and develop this practice, and be happy with any and all efforts made for this skillful and loving intention to be more mindful for the benefit and welfare of all beings and all life everywhere.
For more info on working with slogans, read "How to use slogans to transform your life."